SSAT Middle Level Verbal : Cause and Effect

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SSAT Middle Level Verbal

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Cause And Effect

Hush is to quiet as __________.

Possible Answers:

slither is to snake

confused is to understand

sad is to depressed

anchor is to boat

cheer up is to happy

Correct answer:

cheer up is to happy

Explanation:

“Hush” is a verb that means “make (someone) be quiet or stop talking,” so if you hush someone, you want them to be quiet. So, we need to pick out an answer choice in which the first word is a verb that describes an action one would take if one wanted someone else to have the quality that the second word, an adjective, describes. While “sad is to depressed” and “cheer up is to happy” might each look like a potentially correct answer, “sad” is not a verb, and we need the first word to be a verb in the answer choice that we select. So, “sad is to depressed” cannot be the correct answer; however, when one cheers up someone, one expects that person to feel happy, just as when one hushes someone, one wants them to be quiet, so “cheer up is to happy” is the correct answer.

Example Question #2 : Cause And Effect

Analogies: Complete this analogy.

Winter is to frostbite as summer is to __________.

Possible Answers:

Fortitude

Saturated 

Whiplash 

Emaciated 

Heatstroke 

Correct answer:

Heatstroke 

Explanation:

"Frostbite" is something negative that can afflict an individual in the height of "winter," so to solve this analogy, you have to determine which of the answer choices can afflict someone during "summer." The correct answer is “heatstroke.” For clarification, "saturated" means soaked, "emaciated" means very skinny and unhealthy, "whiplash" is a type of injury to the neck generally sustained in a car crash or some other collision, and "fortitude" means strength.

Example Question #3 : Cause And Effect

Analogies: Complete this analogy.

Accelerate is to faster as decelerate is to __________.

Possible Answers:

fast 

crash 

car

slower 

brake

Correct answer:

slower 

Explanation:

When you "accelerate," you go faster, and and when you "decelerate," you go slower. This question simply requires you to ignore the distracting references to words associated with acceleration and focus on the relationship between the four words.

Example Question #4 : Cause And Effect

Complete this analogy.

Cluttered is to organize as ripped is to __________.

Possible Answers:

mend

cloth

paper

torn

tear

Correct answer:

mend

Explanation:

If something is cluttered, someone might organize it, so we need to find another verb that describes something someone might do if something is ripped. "Mend" and "torn" are the only two answer choices that are present-tense verbs like "organize," so we need to pick between them. It doesn't make much sense to tear something that is already ripped, and if "tear" were the correct answer, we might expect our model words to have been something like "cluttered is to make messy" to convey that the verb needed to be something one would do to make the first adjective worse. However, since our model words were "cluttered is to organize" and you organize something to make it uncluttered, "mend" is the best answer, since you mend something torn to repair it.

Example Question #5 : Cause And Effect

Complete this analogy.

Evaporation is to sunlight as __________.

Possible Answers:

desk is to wood

eye is to nose

ring is to phonecall

carp is to fish

car is to drive

Correct answer:

ring is to phonecall

Explanation:

The relationship in "evaporation is to sunlight" is effect to cause. Evaporation is caused by sunlight warming water. The best choice is "ring is to phonecall" as a phonecall will cause a telephone to ring. None of the other choices share this relationship of effect and cause and are inappropriate. One that might seem similar is "car is to drive", but this is not a cause and effect. "Driving" is what you do with a car. In other words, "driving" is the car's use.

Example Question #71 : Part/Whole, Part/Part, Example/Category, And Cause/Effect

Complete this analogy.

Pacify is to calm as provoke is to __________.

Possible Answers:

asleep

distracted

angry

wistful

overjoyed

Correct answer:

angry

Explanation:

Since "pacify" is a verb that means "to cause someone who is angry or upset to become calm or quiet," if you pacify someone, they become calm. So, we need to pick out a word that describes the emotional state of a person after they are provoked. While all of the answer choices represent emotional states, since "provoke" means "to cause a person or animal to become angry or violent," "angry" is the correct answer. 

Example Question #72 : Part/Whole, Part/Part, Example/Category, And Cause/Effect

Complete this analogy.

Iterate is to redundant as interrupt is to __________.

Possible Answers:

playful

rude

shy

angry

crafty

Correct answer:

rude

Explanation:

“Iterate” is a verb that means “perform or utter repeatedly,” and “redundant” an adjective that means either “not or no longer needed or useful,” or when referring to words or data, “able to be left out without loss of meaning.” So, if one iterates too much, one might be perceived as being redundant. So, we need to pick out an answer choice that describes how one might be perceived if one interrupts too much. “Interrupt” is a verb that means “stop the continuous progress” or “to stop someone speaking by saying or doing something.” So, one might logically be perceived as being “rude” (“offensively impolite or ill-mannered”) if one interrupts the conversations of others too much. So, because if one interrupts too much one might be perceived as rude, just as if iterates too much one might be perceived as redundant, “rude” is the correct answer.

Example Question #73 : Part/Whole, Part/Part, Example/Category, And Cause/Effect

Complete this analogy.

Sick is to doctor as lonely is to __________

Possible Answers:

defame 

healthy 

ecstatic

friend 

lonesome 

Correct answer:

friend 

Explanation:

When you are suffering with sickness you go to a doctor, so to solve this analogy you have to determine to whom you go when you are suffering from loneliness. The correct answer is “friend.” For clarification, "lonesome" means lonely; "defame" means speak negatively about, slander; "ecstatic" means very happy.

Example Question #6 : Cause And Effect

Complete this analogy.

Sneeze is to ill as snore is to __________.

Possible Answers:

nighttime

tired

nose

sleeping

pillow

Correct answer:

sleeping

Explanation:

Someone who is ill might sneeze, so we need to pick out another word that represents the state of someone who might snore. While "tired" and "sleeping" might both look like good options, one only snores if they are sleeping, not if they are tired, so "sleeping" is the correct answer.

Example Question #7 : Cause And Effect

Complete this analogy.

Amity is to friends as rivalry is to __________.

Possible Answers:

coworkers

bitter

sports

teammates

competitors

Correct answer:

competitors

Explanation:

"Amity" is a word that means a feeling of friendship, so just as friends feel amity, we need to pick out a word that represents the people who might feel rivalry toward one another. While "competitors" and "teammates" are all words representing people, "competitors" is the best answer, because "competitor" is synonymous with rival, so competitors feel rivalry toward one another.

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